Tracking device protective case

ABSTRACT

A protective case for a wireless tracking device featuring a flexible annular bezel. One embodiment features an annular bezel having a conforming interior channel which engages the sides of the tracking device, and an upper opening, which leaves a portion of the upper side of the tracking device exposed. Certain embodiments feature a bezel that permits the tracking device to be inserted into the protective case relatively easily, while other embodiments feature a cover which engages with a base, making removal of the tracking device impractical without damaging the case itself. One embodiment may be used with shoelaces and features a flat elastomeric surface to which graphic designs may be applied.

BACKGROUND

The embodiments described herein are accessories which allow a user to install, use, and protect small electronic tracking devices which are networked both with similar devices and with personal electronic devices primarily using short-range, low-power wireless communications systems in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) electromagnetic spectrum, i.e. the ISM band. A popular brand of such device is the AirTag™ by Apple, Inc.

SUMMARY

The embodiments disclosed herein include housings typically made of moldable materials that provide sufficient protection for the tracking device, yet are sufficiently elastomeric to permit the tracking device to be installed and removed from the case. The housings' construction permits the device to be easily installed upon a surface and removed, yet protects the device during use. Certain embodiments of these housing provide a measure of anti-tampering protection, because the device cannot be easily removed while the case is attached to a surface, unless the case is physically damaged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the overall configuration of one preferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cutaway perspective view of one preferred embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one preferred embodiment of the case with the tracking device installed.

FIG. 4 is an elevation view of one embodiment of the case.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the case in cutaway perspective view.

FIG. 6 shows an elevation cutaway view of the second embodiment of the case.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the case with tracking device installed when the case is attached to a surface.

FIG. 8 is a cutaway perspective view of a third embodiment of the protective case.

FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment of a protective case installed on the underside of a bicycle seat.

FIG. 10 illustrates a third embodiment of a protective case installed on the underside of a bicycle seat.

FIG. 11 is a lower perspective view of the bottom of a fourth embodiment of a protective case.

FIG. 12 is an upper perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a protective case.

FIG. 13 is an elevation view of a fourth embodiment of a protective case.

FIG. 14 is a bottom plan view of a fourth embodiment of a protective case illustrating the interior cavity of the case through the bottom opening.

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of a fourth embodiment of a protective case.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific devices, methods, conditions, or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of the claimed invention. Any and all patents and other publications identified in this specification are incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

Also, as used in the specification including the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include the plural, and reference to a particular numerical value includes at least that particular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” or “approximately” one particular value and/or to “about” or “approximately” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about”, it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment.

It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, many other elements which are conventional in this art. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other elements are desirable for implementing the present invention. However, because such elements are well-known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a discussion of such elements is not provided herein.

A first embodiment of a protective case 1 is shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a cutaway perspective view illustrating the interior structure of protective case 1. Outer bezel 2 is slightly inwardly curved in this embodiment in order to deflect accidental applied forces that would tend to dislodge the case. However, the outer bezel may be of any shape depending on the particular application. Outer bezel 2 curves inward to locking edge 3. Interior channel 4 is curved outwardly in the interior of inner cavity 11 to accommodate the edge of the tracking device in the interior of the case. In this particular embodiment, the tracking device is circular having a smoothly curving edge, the shape of which is implied by the contour of interior channel 4 shown in FIG. 2 . Interior channel 4 terminates at its lower edge at upper shelf 5, which is annular in this particular embodiment and ends at upper interior wall 6, which descends downwardly to lower shelf 7. The inner edge of lower shelf 7 terminates at the edge of membrane 8. Mounting surface 9 may be integrally molded with the case. In other embodiments, mounting surface 9 is comprised of a two-sided flat substrate. Mounting surface 9 may have an adhesive applied to the bottom to facilitate attachment to a surface, or it may have mechanical (e.g. hook-and-loop, male-female snap connector, etc.), magnetic, or other attachment means known to the art. In some cases, mounting surface 9 may consist entirely of an adhesive structure consisting of a substrate having a first type of adhesive material on one side of the substrate that abuts the lower side of case 1, and a second type of adhesive material on the other side of the substrate. In some cases, the bonding strength of the first adhesive will be different from the second adhesive; in other cases, the bonding strength will be the same. These embodiments are attached to a flat lower side of case 1.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrates use of one embodiment of the case 1 with tracking device 10. Case 1 is made of a material that is slightly elastic, which means that locking edge 3 will flex slightly in a radially outward direction to permit tracking device to be inserted into interior cavity 11 as shown in FIG. 2 . Membrane 8 is comprised of a thin layer of flexible material that facilitates removal of the tracking device 10. In some embodiments, membrane 8 is made of the same material as the rest of the case. To remove tracking device 10 from the case 1 under ordinary conditions, case 1 is removed from the surface to which it is attached. As shown in FIG. 2 , removing case 1 from the surface allows a user to press inwardly on the portion of mounting surface 9 immediately below membrane 8. Accordingly, membrane 8 will flex inwardly toward the lower surface of tracking device 10. When force is exerted in this fashion, this causes the edges of tracking device 10 to exert force on locking edge 3. Since locking edge 3 is itself somewhat flexible, tracking device 10 should “pop out” from the case when enough force is applied to its underside through membrane 8.

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 illustrate an alternate embodiment of case 1 consisting of two parts: upper shell 12 and lower cap 13. Upper shell 12 conforms to the exterior shape of tracking device 10, so for case 1 shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 , it is round with a beveled annular base 14, which terminates at vertical wall 15, which in turn terminates with beveled upper edge 16. In this particular embodiment, the beveled upper edge 16 terminates at upper opening 20, which permits the user to view the upper surface of the tracking device 10 when installed in the case. This is desirable with certain models of tracking device 10, where the upper surface can be personalized, e.g. with initials or a particular design.

Lower cap 13 in this embodiment has locking edge 17 which engages an engagement notch 18 that is located at the inward portion of beveled annular base 14. In certain embodiments, engagement notch 18 can have a radially inward-directed lip (extending even with the bottom of annular base 14) located that exerts upward force on an edge of the corresponding locking edge 17, thereby allowing locking edge 17 to snap securely into position. In other embodiments shown in FIG. 8 , locking edge 17 may be threaded, with corresponding engaging threads disposed in engagement notch 18. In these embodiments, lower cap 13 would be installed by rotating lower cap 13 with the threads on locking edge 17 and the corresponding threads on engagement notch 18 engaged.

The embodiments shown in FIGS. 5-7 are attached to a mounting surface 9. Mounting surface 9 in one embodiment is a substrate which has adhesive applied to its upper and lower sides. As shown in FIG. 6 , the bottom surfaces of upper shell 12 and lower shell 13 are flush, permitting mounting surface to be adhered to a substantially smooth planar surface. As described above, mounting surface 9 may consist entirely of an adhesive structure consisting of a substrate having a first type of adhesive material on one side of the substrate that abuts the lower side of case 1 consisting of the bottom surfaces of upper shell 12 and lower shell 13, and a second type of adhesive material on the other side of the substrate. In some cases, the bonding strength of the first adhesive will be different from the second adhesive; in other cases, the bonding strength will be the same. In addition, mounting surface 9 may have mechanical (e.g. hook-and-loop, male-female snap connector, etc.), magnetic, or other attachment means known to the art.

It should be noted that in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-7 , the tracking device cannot be removed when the case is mounted to a surface without the case being physically damaged. Accordingly, for normal removal, the case must be removed from the surface upon which it is mounted, at which point upper shell and lower shell 13 can be separated. In the embodiments where locking edge 17 and engagement notch are elastomerically engaged, i.e. “snapped together”, upper shell 12 and lower shell 13 can be separated by pressing down on the portion of tracking device 10 exposed through upper opening 20.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate an application of a particular embodiment where the protective case for the tracking device is installed on the underside of a bicycle seat 21. In certain embodiments, the protective case 1 can be used in conjunction with a mounting bracket 22. It should be noted, that, in this as in previous embodiments, the tracking device cannot be removed from the case unless the case is physically removed from the bicycle seat. In one particular embodiment, the upper shell 12 and a portion of mounting bracket 22 contains one or more magnets which facilitate the engagement of these components. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , a portion of mounting bracket 22 is contoured to accommodate the shape of upper shell 12, which securely holds the case in place.

FIGS. 11 through 15 illustrate a fourth embodiment of the protective case. This embodiment features an elastomeric shell 23 which is generally cylindrical in shape overall, i.e. an embodiment of elastomeric shell 23 is a vertical cylindrical wall comprised of elastomeric material. Two opposing elongated holes or slots 24 in the vertical cylindrical wall accommodate the insertion of shoelaces. As such, this embodiment of the protective case is designed for use with children: The protective case containing the tracking device is attached to a child's shoe by inserting shoelaces through holes 24. The bottom opening 29 of the case is thereby covered by the upper portion of the child's shoe and secured in place by the shoelaces. To facilitate its visual appeal in this application, the top of this protective case is an elastomeric, flat surface 25 to which graphic designs can be applied, as illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 15 . The interior of elastic shell 23 is a cavity 26. Annular ring 27 protrudes from the interior side wall of elastic shell 23 to secure the tracking device 10 in the cavity 26, as illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14 . The tracking device 10 is inserted through bottom opening 29 into cavity 26 and secured by stretching the elastic shell 23 so that the bottom edge of tracking device 10 is held in place by annular ring 27 as illustrated in FIG. 13 . The flexibility of the material comprising elastic shell 23 and annular ring 27 should be greater than that of the material used in the other embodiments to permit installation of tracking device 10 in this fashion. To remove tracking device 10 from the case, the user will press down on flat surface 25, which due to its flexibility will contact the top of tracking device 10. Continued pressure will result in a downward force being exerted on annular ring 27, which will deform and permit tracking device 10 to pop out into cavity 26 where it can then be removed therefrom.

Embodiments of the mounting case are preferably made of elastomeric materials. Examples of suitable materials include thermosetting plastics having hardness of approximately Shore 30D to Shore 100D, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), PMMA, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high durometer thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) having hardness of approximately Shore 30D to Shore 100D.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to certain embodiments, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments, which have been presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A protective case for a tracking device, the protective case comprising: a semi-rigid annular bezel surrounding a cavity, the semi-rigid annular bezel terminating upwardly in a locking edge biased inwardly toward the cavity, the semi-rigid annular bezel further comprising: an interior channel disposed within the cavity, the interior channel depending from the locking edge to an interior channel bottom edge, wherein the interior channel is shaped to conform to an edge of the tracking device; wherein a portion of a bottom of the cavity comprises a flexible membrane; and a flexible mounting surface having an upper side and a lower side, wherein the upper side is affixed to a bottom of the cavity.
 2. The protective case of claim 1, wherein the semi-rigid annular bezel further comprises: an upper shelf extending inwardly from the interior channel bottom edge; and an upper interior wall disposed between the upper shelf and a lower shelf, wherein the lower shelf extends between a bottom of the upper interior wall and the flexible membrane.
 3. A protective case for a tracking device, comprising: an upper shell comprising: a beveled annular base comprising an inner edge and an outer edge, wherein the inner edge comprises an interiorly directed engagement notch; an annular wall extending vertically from the inner edge of the beveled annular base; and a beveled upper edge extending inwardly from a top of the annular wall, the beveled upper edge comprising: an exterior edge adjoining the top of the annular wall; an interior surface contoured to contact a first upper portion of the tracking device; a lower cap comprising an edge adapted to engage the interiorly directed engagement notch; and a mounting surface having an upper side adhered to a bottom side of the lower cap.
 4. The protective case according to claim 3, wherein the beveled upper edge further comprises an opening.
 5. The protective case according to claim 3, wherein the interiorly directed engagement notch comprises a first set of screw threads, and the edge of the lower cap comprises a second set of screw threads adapted to engage the first set of screw threads.
 6. A protective case for a tracking device, comprising: an upper shell comprising: a vertical edge and a beveled edge extending from the vertical edge, wherein an interior face of the vertical edge comprises an engagement notch; and a lower shell comprising: an upwardly extending locking edge, wherein an outwardly facing vertical portion of the upwardly extending locking edge is adapted to engage the engagement notch; and an inwardly-facing curved wall defining a cavity adapted to contact a lower surface of the tracking device.
 7. The protective case of claim 6, wherein the upper shell further comprises one or more magnets.
 8. The protective case of claim 6, wherein the engagement notch comprises a first set of screw threads, and the upwardly extending locking edge comprises a second set of screw threads adapted to engage the first set of screw threads.
 9. A protective case for a tracking device, comprising: an elastomeric shell comprising a vertical cylindrical wall, the vertical cylindrical wall comprising at least two opposing elongated holes disposed in proximity to a bottom of the vertical cylindrical wall, and a flat surface disposed perpendicularly at a top of the vertical cylindrical wall; wherein a cavity is defined by the vertical cylindrical wall and the flat surface, the cavity comprising an annular ring adapted to engage a lower edge of the tracking device, and wherein an upper portion of the cavity is shaped to conform to an upper surface of the tracking device. 